Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Rogue One

It's the holiday season, that means that there's a new Star Wars movie out. And there always will be every December for the rest of our natural lives. Hooray! I decided to buy myself a nice Star Wars related card and go see the newest movie.

Here's the card. A Tek auto of Sabine Wren (actually her voice actress Tiya Sircar) from 2015. Part of something I've been working on since I dropped collecting baseball actually.

And from here here's my kinda brief review of the most recent movie Rogue One.

I liked it. I really did.

But it left me, conflicted. As in, I was happy to have seen it, but still felt empty. It's kind of hard to talk about why without spoiling what happens to many of the characters.

The movie centers around a group of Rebels including Jyn Erso, whose father was a key person behind the development of the Death Star. She has to help the Rebel Alliance find her father and get information on exactly what the Empire is up to. And it ends up with the Rebel Alliance falling into the rebellion's hands.

Now a lot of what I'll say from here are thoughts I had about the lore, universe and movie as I was watching it.

A). There are no Bothans

In the original trilogy it was stated that many Bothans died to bring the Rebel Alliance the Death Star plans. That appears to be false as Jyn and pretty much none of her fellow rebels are Bothans. They're mainly humans. And if you're wondering what Bothans even are, they're furry creatures (Google Image search it).

It has been brought to my attention that the Bothans and their acquisition of the Death Star plans were in Episode 6, Return of the Jedi. Silly me.

B). Rebels References!

I knew going into the movie that there were a few Star Wars Rebels references and I managed to get four of them. Two are in the form of cameo appearances by the Ghost, one in the form of a cameo appearance by Chopper the droid, and another via a loudspeaker calling for a "General Syndulla."

Truth be told it was tough to see the Ghost and Chopper because I was watching the movie in 3D (which means anything that's not important is blurry as shit). But supposedly they are there. Now the question is whether or not the General Syndulla is Hera or Cham.

C). Clone Wars Veteran!

Saw Gerrera plays a part in Rogue One, and he's one of the first (of many I hope) characters to have debuted in one of the cartoons that made an appearance in the live action movies. The official Star Wars pages on social media have a great clip of Clone Wars/Rebels writers talking about Saw. Saw'll make his Rebels debut in season three too BTW.

D). Darth Vader is ruthless

That ending man. Woof. Star Wars has been around long enough and has gained enough exposure that Vader doesn't seem too threatening anymore, but the ending to Rogue One will remind you that he's as merciless as ever.

E). This movie features the coolest looking crane game ever

You know what I'm talking about.

F). The Rebel Fleet

I assume the events that occur in A New Hope happen not too long after the events in this movie. This leaves me wondering exactly how much power the Rebel Fleet has to fight the Empire with in A New Hope. Many of the rebels escape but some are stopped by Vader's star destroyer. As we saw in ANH, not much.

G). The Death Star can move

Apparently the Death Star can move through the galaxy using hyperspace. I did not know that.

H). Crud, now I want to buy some cards LEGOs related to Rogue One

Should I set up a Patreon?

So there's my review. The movie didn't have Kanan or Rex, but I found it entertaining nonetheless.